At approximately 18 inches long, you wouldn’t think that a little dog could take up so much room in a house, but he does. There’s evidence of him in every room. Squeaky toys, rope toys, weird chewy things, a super-bouncing skyball, faux rawhide bones, and large floor pillows clutter our living room. Even when he’s just lying on the floor, he somehow stretches in every direction to claim his space.

At about 12 inches high, you wouldn’t think that he could commandeer everyone to stay on schedule and on task, but he does:

If we aren’t up by 7 a.m., he wants to know why.

Eating is one of his priorities, and with a look from his black button eyes, he summons us — his waiters — to fill the feed bowl twice a day. He reminds me that it’s time for us to go walking every day.

Sleeping is one of his favorite activities, and you can just feel his disbelief that the humans in the house don’t nap.

Along those lines, he can’t believe it when we stay up later to watch TV: he stares at us, wondering what could possibly be so important to keep us from going to bed.

At slightly more than 10 pounds, you wouldn’t think that he’d have the moxie of a larger dog, but he does. He has taken it upon himself to guard the house in a way that would make a German Shepherd proud. Squirrels fear him. Delivery guys step back when they hear his bark. He puffs up and growls when he crosses paths with big dogs, garbage trucks, and skateboarders.

And because he is everywhere, taking up room while protecting and running a tight ship, you wouldn’t think that we would ever lose track of him. But every night when he runs outside to take that final lap around the backyard before bed, he’s invisible. Black night meets black dog, and poof! He’s gone.

No longer.

See that red smear? As an “Adoption Day” present, we got him a collar that lights up. It’s surreal and slightly futuristic, and it cracks me up that we can find him in the dark.